My name is Allison Reyes and is just my self assessment but, my life is nothing more than a tragedy. Everything that has happened and will happen to me are all misfortunes placed upon me by an unfair god. In fact I don't even think god truly exists. What kind of god would allow such a tragedy like me to befall on this world. I'm gloomy, cowardly, narrow minded, a show off, and, worst of allā¦ I'm hopelessly average. I don't deserve to be happy. I don't deserve to be alive. I don't deserve anything at all.
I just wish for my pitiful life to end. I would kill myself but I'm too much of a pussy to do it. These thoughts just circle around my head and suffocate me until I just wanna scream. However I know no one would care. Not my family, not my friends, not even myself would give a fuck about my death. If they don't care now they won't care ever. Ten years ago my mother died during what they now call the "Red Christmas Incident ". On that daya huge fire engulfed the city resulting in two thousand deaths.
One year ago, I had a falling out with my friend Sarah Yanez. I started to have a crush on her boyfriend, Greg Gardner and even confessed that to Greg. She found out about it shortly afterwards. Sarah told me to never talk to her again and kill myself. I avoided her and Greg ever since that day. Worst thing is I go to a private school so word gets around fast. We also wear a uniform that consists of a black blazer, a black tie, a tucked white buttoned up shirt, and a velvet red skirt for girls or black khaki pants for boys.
"Heyā¦ Allisonā¦ wake up and hear my fantastic idea!"
I was brought back to reality by an annoying voice I knew too well.
"... a few more minutes, Tylerā¦ "
I waved my hand to shoo him off, but he immediately grabbed my hand. Squeezing it as hard as he can, which isn't much. I raised my head while letting my hair flow down and cover my face. My hand instincts grabbed my glasses and meticulously put them on.I turned to the weak ape holding my hand like a kid does to their mother. He returned my scary face with an uneasy grin. His hand quickly let go of me. Tyler Jennings is the only friend I have left who still likes hanging out with me.
I couldn't tell why he still does but I have a few theories why. One he has a crush on me or two he's waiting for me to reveal something embarrassing so he could tell the whole school. Probably the former than the latter since I don't believe for a second his brain can handle that much thinking. I guess then the question is would I go out with him. Tyler despite his personality isn't ugly in fact I'm still surprised he's single. I would expect girls to go crazy over his curly ginger hair, his cute array of freckles, and his swimmer's body, but then there's his personality and it kinda falls apart. If I were to describe his personality he would be a ditzy, hard headed, annoying, irritating, irresponsible, and a complete idiot of a man.
"What do you want?"
"Ummā¦ so you know how there's that statue of that weird looking guy in the middle of the courtyard?"
"You mean the Dwight Eisenhower statue?"
"Yeah, him!"
"How do you not know his name?"
"Am I supposed to?"
"Our school is named after him!"
"And?"
I felt my brain cells slowly dying off. How can someone be this stupid?
"So, anyways what if we spray painted him?"
"Why and how?"
"After basketball practice Coach Niegler basically lets the whole team go anywhere on campus which includes the courtyard."
"You play basketball?"
His eyes widen and his face turns beet red.
"What do you mean? I have always been called Curry."
He makes a dunking motion.
"Like Curry? More like Brady."
"Tom Brady is a football player."
"Exactly."
Once again his eyes pop out of his skull. I don't know why but I love teasing him. Probably because of his reactions. He always overreacts to everything.
"Anyway, where's Mister Vader?"
Our Algebra teacher Mister Vader must've left class sometime after I fell asleep.
"He hadā¦ somethingā¦ to do on campus."
"Do you remember why?"
"Ahā¦ Uhā¦ umā¦ "
Tyler scratched his head as he recalled what happened during my nap, but he obviously didn't remember.
"Ehhā¦ oh I remember now!"
Tyler yelled in excitement as if it was something to celebrate over.
"He was gonna bring the attendance sheet to the main office."
"Why didn't he ask a student?"
"He did butā¦ "
"What happened?"
"Well, he asked me to do it but Iā¦ how do I put thisā¦ I accidentally threw away the paper thinking it was trash on my way to the office."
I'm at a loss for words. Humanity has failed if someone this dumb can exist. How is he in this class, no the better question is how is he even at this school. The only ways to attend Eisenhower Academy is to get a scholarship or pay the tuition of 50,000 dollars. Either way you have to take the entrance exams which some people say are harder than the SATs.
"How did you get into this school?"
Before he could answer my question, the bell signifying the end of the 3rd period rang. As always Tyler snatches his bag off the floor and makes a mad dash out of the classroom.
I on the other hand slowly got up and collected my things before making the same mad dash out. My next class was on the other side of the campus and with only three minutes left of the passing period I knew that I better run or at least do a light jog.
Realizing that I would look as stupid as Tyler I decided instead to do a light jog. With most of my books in my arms I went past the crowds of people clotting the hallways while trying not to bump into anyone.
But thenā¦
"Ow."
"You okay?"
I was foolishly looking down while running up the stairs. Needless to say I crashed into someone. My books flew across the stairs, some even falling down. I was knocked down into an almost sitting down position. My glasses became crooked and my pride shattered.
"Do you need some help?"
He crouched down and put out his hand. He didn't show any emotion though just a straight unwavering face. I looked up and realized he was Carter Hanneman, the smartest kid in school and captain of the Archery Club. He was ranked number one in the entire school. Hell, I think he got a scholarship to this school in the sixth grade.
Carter was known as the "Perfect Human" around the school. He was smart, athletic, charismatic, confident, and handsome. Every girl wanted him and every boy wanted to be him. He had jet black parted hair, refined elegant looking glasses, a chiseled yet soft looking face, and a six pack not even his uniform could hide.
I'm a basic looking girl with nothing really special about me. I have straight black hair, normal looking face, unflattering glasses, and an almost flat chest. My only redeeming quality is that I barely talk, so why is this walking Michelangelo statue even interested in talking to me? I crashed into that masterpiece of a man and he was asking me if I'm okay. I almost wanna die of bliss.
"Ummā¦ sorryā¦ it just I was gonna be late and I didn't want to be and I ran and crashed into you and probably hurt you and hurt myself too and and andā¦ "
I started rambling unintelligible like I was some sort of lunatic. Carter just has that effect on me.
"Hey it's okay. I'm the one at fault."
He's the one at fault? Despite my objection Carter started to pick up and collect my scattered books anyway. He started to put each book in a stacked pile next to me
"But Iā¦ "
He stopped to inspect one of my books. He chuckled and muttered something like "It can't her"
"Huh?"
"Also Sprach Zarathustra?"
He looked at me and smiled brightly. He reached out to hand me the book. His smile blinded me with it's almost ethereal white color.
"I prefer Dostoevsky over Nietzsche, but I guess'' live and let live right?"
"Oh, that? It's just a stupid book my history teacher gave me."
"Does that mean you haven't read it?"
His face turned sour quickly. I hoped I didn't upset him but I wanted to be honest with him. No point in lying to an almost complete stranger.
"No I haven't, it's justā¦ I kinda don't get the hype."
He handed my books and helped me get off the ground.
"You should read it again. I bet you'll like it more after a second reading."
"Uhhā¦ thanks."
As his smile returned, I blushed brighter than a cherry.
"What's your name?"
"I'm Allison Reyes."
"Carter Hanneman but you probably already knew that."
"I mean of course you're the smartestā¦ "
He immediately cringed the moment I uttered "smart".
"I kinda hoped you wouldn't bring that up."
Huh? Why would I bring that up? If I was in his position I would be announcing it to everyone I meet. He got the highest grade on the entrance exams in the history of Eisenhower Academy.
"I thought you were different from the girls who fawn over me like moths to a flame."
He no longer had a smile. Just a cold and distant frown. He looked annoyed and irritated. But it almost seemed like his face was far too used to that frown. He walked off with his hands in his pockets.
"See ya Allison."
He waved bye as he walked down the stairs away from me. My first interaction with Carter Hanneman ended up just being another misfortunate incident in a series of many others. The bell signifying the end of the passing period rang. I've always thought that somehow I was different from the other girls. That most girls were shallow and bitchy, but I guess if Carter, someone who probably deals with girls asking him out on the daily thinks I'm just some regular girl, I guess then he's right. I silently walked to my class while sulking at my terrible luck. Luckily my little self pity sesh ended soon after.
At the classroom door was my favorite teacher, Mister Alexander standing there with one of his legs on the wall and a devilish smirk on his face. Mister Alexander was basically everyone's favorite teacher. He taught a few World History and US History classes at Dwight D Eisenhower Private Academy. As a result every student knew who he was.
He had light brown curly hair with a slightly darker well trimmed beard which hid his perfect jawline. His handsome face was complemented with his almost bodybuilder-like body. Plus he looked like a mature college kid. Needless to say he was very popular with the ladies. He had on a white buttoned up tucked shirt, black slim khaki pants, and nice black dress shoes.
"Y'know if you're late again tomorrow I might have to call you my second favorite student."
"Oh really?"
"You don't believe me?"
"No I do but who would be your first favorite student then?"
"I got a couple of girls in my second period who would love my favorite student."
He winked at me as if to imply something more risquƩ.
"I don't think you are allowed to do that as a teacher."
"Do what exactly?"
"Y'knowā¦giving them private lessons."
As I walked into the classroom Mister Alexander chuckled a bit and shook his head. As usual the atmosphere of the class was chaotic. Half of the class which I called the Tryhard Gossips were loudly talking about the stupidest things like celebrities scandals and their school rankings. The other half were what I called the Fangirl Club. Usually they would gossip about the Football Team and Basketball Team being hot or how much they wanted Carter or Mister Alexander.
Sadly my seat was on the edge of the Fangirl Club's usual spot so sometimes I get mistaken for one of them. Consequently the Tryhard Gossips thought I was some sort of groupie. I couldn't even fit in with the Fangirl Club because of my close relationship with Alexander. Basically I had no one to talk to.
"Ok, everybody settle down."
Alexander walked in and calmed the class down. Though I could still hear the fangirls squeal and moan.
"Today we finally get to my favorite part of history, the Cold War."
As always the fangirls squealed at everything he said.
"Do any of you know anything about the Cold War?"
Immediately everyone except for me and some blonde kid raised their hand. Alexander pointed to the blonde kid.
"Arthur Rosenberg, know anything about the Cold War?"
The kid's eyes widened in fear. He looked fearfully down at his desk.
"Ummā¦ wellā¦ the Cold War was aboutā¦ "
"Stand up and speak up."
He motioned for Arthur to stand. He complied with little difficulty. He was short to put it bluntly. Arthur looked barely taller than me and I was 5 foot 7 so he must've been a little over 5 foot 8. His long blonde hair basically covered his forehead and almost reached his eyes. He also looked very young for his age. He looked awkward and had the manners of a very sheltered person. If he spoke up more he would no doubt be popular with girls.
"Uhhā¦ ummā¦ the Cold War was aā¦ war aboutā¦"
He was super nervous. It almost felt like he wanted to cry.
"Would you like to phone a friend?"
"Yes, sir."
Me and this other girl raised our hands.
"Allison, help dear ol' Artie out."
I stood up and smiled at Arthur. He awkwardly smiled back.
"The Cold War was a period of tension between the Soviet Union and the United States after World War Two. The two superpowers had differing views onā¦ Ummā¦ "
Damn I lost my train of thought.
"Alice, help her."
My dorm mate, Alice Oswald stood up and proudly smiled. Alice had light blonde hair in pigtails. We weren't that close despite being dorm mates. She was an arrogant snarky know it all. She mostly bragged about her perfect gpa and being ranked second right under Carter. As a result she was very unpopular. She wasn't ugly appearance wise. She was well endowed and I've even heard some boys talk about her having a nice ass, but because of her personality they wouldn't go out with her.
"The Soviet Union and the United States had differing views on how the world should be run."
"Thank you I expected nothing less from the second smartest."
I sat down right before I could feel more embarrassed. Mister Alexander went on and on about the Cold War's impact on today's society which I really didn't care about. The Cold War has been over for almost thirty years. Most of the major players have died out. Russia isn't a superpower anymore. I know most of history is kinda like that but I always found myself thinking about the Cold War more than any other period in history.
Class went as usual except for the constant sideways glances from Alice and Arthur. It got to the point where it got more creepy than weird. After ten or so minutes, Mister Alexander passed out packets to everyone.
"Here's your first project of the semester."
A wave of groaning passed through the classroom.
"I know my projects can be difficult sometimes but this time I swear it will be fun."
The packet's title was "The Russian Revolution". We could pick from three topics which were Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, and Vladimir Lenin. This was a five person group assignment where we had to summarize one of the Russian Revolutionaries lifes.
"This is a group assignment but I pick the groups."
He devilish smiled knowing that the wave of groaning will return. He listed all the groups which usually had people who never talked to each other in them.
"Group 4, Allison, Arthur, and Alice."
Just my luck I'm in the group with the weird kids. Mister Alexander had the final say and basically kind of forced me into that group. The fourth bell rang. Everyone except for me, Alice, and Arthur immediately disperse before Alexander could even say anything. As I was packing up, Arthur and Alice approached me.
"Go Arthur! Tell her!"
Alice pushed Arthur closer to me. He almost tripped on my backpack.
"Ummā¦ thanks for helping."
He was looking down at my backpack instead of looking in my eyes. I pushed his chin up and moved my face closer to his.
"Look at eyes. Make eye contact with me. Girls like it when you show confidence."
He blushed again, almost making me blush as well.
"Thank you, Allison. Thank you for everything you've done."
"You're welcome. I hope you return the favor someday."
"I will!"
His smile was even cuter than his blush. How has no girl snatched him up already?
"Artie let's go!"
Alice was staring me down. She looked like she wanted to kill me. Her eyes could pierce the strongest of metals.
"Bye, Allison."
Arthur waved as he and Alice walked out of the classroom and disappeared into the crowd. Poor thing. Having an overprotective friend would be a pain in the ass. Especially when she's barely older than you. Good thing I don't have many friends. I left the classroom soon after that.
My next class was English with Miss Davis. The classroom wasn't too far away from Mister Alexander so what happened earlier probably wouldn't happen again, hopefully. Unlike Mister Alexander, Miss Davis wasn't the type of person to stand outside her classroom and greet her students. The room was possibly more loud and rambunctious than Alexander's.
The male students were playing a form of basketball that involved a crumpled up piece of paper, a trash can, and a lot of yelling. The female students were gossiping loudly about their relationships and the latest drama. This all happened while Miss Davis was napping on her desk in front of the classroom like a baby. Her short velvet red hair covered her eyes making it seem like she was awake.
My seat was the desk in the second column and the second row from the door in front of the classroom. In the desk right of mine was the nuisance in my life known as Tyler Jennings and my good friend, Penny Brown. Though they didn't seem to be in a good mood. Penny had light caramel skin, huge brown eyes, black straightened out hair, and a large array of freckles across her cheeks and nose.
"Good morning Penny."
"Hey."
Her voice sounded very disinterested.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, it's just Lisa being Lisa."
Lisa was Penny's adopted sister. They didn't get along very well. Actually, to put it more precisely, Penny didn't like Lisa at all.
"What did she do this time?"
"You see she, me and my dad flowers butā¦ mine were all crumpled. I know she did it on purpose but she keeps on acting like it wasn't. It pisses me off."
"She's probably telling the truth."
"Of course you'll say that everybody, even my own dad likes her better than me."
"That's not what I said."
Penny rolled her eyes. She didn't want to hear any of what I said.
"Penny I promise you it was an accident."
"You sound just like her."
It's like talking to a wall.
"Look how about at lunch I could talk to Lisa about it and clear up this whole mess."
"Don't bother."
"Why?"
"I'm not gonna hang out with you guys today. Got a test to make up."
I wanted to roll my eyes.
"You shouldn't run away from your problems."
"You can't talk about me avoiding my problems when you run away from anything that gives you any trouble."
What is she talking about?
"No I don't."
"Whatever, you don't even have a good relationship with your sister."
Me and my sister Lana have never been on good terms. During my junior year she was the one to reveal that Tyler had a crush on me and she wanted him. She even pushed for me asking out Greg while knowing the consequences. Lana then said that I was a ugly bitch that deserves to get raped. I replied that she's a petty little brat that wants to be fucked by every boy at school. We never really talked since.
I sulked down to my seat. I wish this day would end already. After a while, Miss Davis finally woke up from her little catnap. She stood up while rubbing her eyes simultaneously.
Miss Davis was known as one of the laziest teachers at Eisenhower Academy. She barely gave out class assignments or tests. She oftens puts in the few assignments we do have long after we've turned it. In short you'll either love her or hate her depending on how good of a student you are. If you're someone who likes having a lot of grades and worry about your gpa for hours on end, you'll probably hate her. However, I think having a teacher can be very comforting and relaxing. I was never a very good student grade wise so I really didn't see the point of hating teachers who didn't give out much work.
Appearance wise, Miss Davis was a fairly young looking woman with short striking red hair and a face befitting of a supermodel. Akin to her face, her body too seemed more in place for a model than a teacher. Today she was wearing a white buttoned up blouse, a black dress skirt that was almost skin tight, and black high heels.
"Alright class, do you remember what we were doing yesterday?"
Carol yawned her question to the class in a very non teacher way. Opening her eyes she looked around the room, pointing at anyone her eyes happened to land on.
"Let's seeā¦ umā¦ Allison what happened yesterday?"
Damn, she had to call on me. If I recallā¦
"We learned how to embed a quote yesterday."
"And that's why you're my favorite student. Everybody get to work! In the mean I'll be out of class. Allison, make sure the class behaves, alright?"
"Yes, ma'am."
She quickly went out of the classroom in a hurry. Unsurprisingly no one actually was doing their work. They were either continuing what they were doing earlier or left the classroom all together. I know Penny left the classroom too. I should've gone with her to be honest.
"Don't you think it's weird how every teacher likes her so much?"
Someone was whispering right behind me.
"She's even Mister Alexander's so called favorite student."
"I bet she sucked him off for that to happen."
"Really? You think Alexander would even find her attractive?"
"I don't know bro."
"You're probably right, plus Alexander isn't married so who knows."
"Would you tap that?"
"Only if you gave me a million dollars."
"Haaha!"
"Hahaha!"
The two of them laughed loud enough that even the people in front of me turned around and stared at them. Worst thing though is that I knew who both of them were. Their names are Patrick Heinzman and Kyle Kuroda. They're friends with Tyler and I've always seen them talking at lunch. Do they know that Tyler has been in love with me since the second grade? Did Tyler tell them those lies?
I should say something but I don't think anything I'll say would change their opinion of me. People's preconceived notions didn't go away that easily. And honestly, trying to "clear things up " or whatever was a ridiculous idea to begin with. There was no need to expend a bunch of effort only to end up making things awkward for everyone involved.
"Can you two just shut up!"
Tyler turned around and made his voice louder than a hammer striking steel. Tyler always had a strong sense of justice. He used to defend me from bullies all the time during middle school. I could tell through the anger in his voice that he was fired up.
"If you two were really men, you wouldn't be gossiping like a couple girls!"
He stood up and slammed his hands on Patrick's desk. Everyone in the class immediately dropped what they were doing, just to watch him go off on them.
"Tyler, calm down. It isn't worth it."
I turned around to calm down Tyler before a fight broke out.
"How can you say that? These lies are completely disgusting!"
He has a point but he's just making the situation worse. People will probably make up rumors about how violent Tyler is and how I made one of my friends intimidate people. Patrick and Kyle are both frozen in shock and embarrassment. They probably feel very demasculinized.
"Come on Tyler just listen to your girlfriend."
"Yeah, calm down. It's just a joke."
The two boys had smug, prideful grins as if they won the argument.
"I know if Coach was around you wouldn't say any of that shit."
"What, are you gonna tell him?"
"Bro, stop simping!"
"Y'know what? Meet me outside after class."
Patrick and Kyle widened their eyes in disbelief. With his last remark, Tyler returned to his seat and resumed doing his work. The onlookers that were around us immediately dispersed afterwards. I couldn't help but feel bad for Tyler, Kyle, and Patrick. Tyler was merely defending me but looked more like the villain in the situation and both Kyle and Patrick are seriously misinformed on me. I don't help why teachers like Alexander, Davis, and even Vader to an extent, like me. Later, Tyler, Kyle, and Patrick went outside the classroom. I didn't want to stop them because I knew that would only escalate things.
I'm not an honor student nor am I very good in their classes. Also the rumors about me being some sort of sexual deviant isn't true. In fact I never ever had sex or a boyfriend. I'm hopelessly average in every way.
Before I realized the fifth bell rang. Everyone left the classroom except me. Not wanting to wake her up I slowly and quietly left her classroom. Though I did wonder how she slept through the ruckus that was going on in her classroom.
Since I left class a few minutes after the bell rang, the hallways were fairly empty. The only people still in the halls were couples making out and outcasts who have no friends. Becoming bored with walking around aimlessly, I checked my phone to see if anyone had texted me.
"I need to talk to you. Please hurry."
Did something go down? Why did Tyler send me this? I guess the only way to find out is to go and see. Sometimes he could be too cryptic with his texts. I climbed down the stairs and walked into the courtyard.
"Damn, it's cold."
It was December. I should've expected this from him. He did say to Kyle and Patrick to meet him outside. I heaved a sigh as I searched for him, but instead I found my best friend, Lisa Flynn.
"Morning, Allison!"
This was Lisa Flynn, my best friend for many years. She was a pale skin girl with bright ginger hair akin to a ripe apple which also was the same color as the many freckles scattered across her small round face. She was a bright light in my deep dark world. Without her I probably would have killed myself a long time ago. Though I would never tell her this. It would only make her sad. I couldn't forgive myself if I did that.
"Well, come on! Hurry up and sit down!"
She pointed to the empty space on the bench right next to her. Prompting me to sit down there.
"So why did you send that cryptic ass text?"
"Oh, I want to know if you saw Penny today?"
"Yeah she was in my last period."
"Good. Is she still mad?"
"Yeahā¦ what happened?"
Lisa's sunny disposition quickly was replaced by a strong frown.
"You see, yesterday I went to the flower store as I usually do. I got four lotuses for Mister Brown and three daisies for Penny."
"As I was headed home, I was stopped by this russian couple."
"Huh?"
"They asked me directions to the Northwest Baptist Church. You know the one I live in."
Mister Brown was the priest at the church and also lived there with his family. He and Lisa were devout believers while Penny on the other hand wasn't.
"I told the couple the directions and even offered to be their guide butā¦ "
"What happened?"
"They thought I was making fun of them andā¦ "
Lisa's eyes started watering.
"They took the daisies and stomped on them."
I had never seen her this sad before. Tears started to flow down her face.
"I didn't mean it to happenā¦ it just didā¦ Iā¦ "
"Lisa, it's okay."
"But Penny thinks I did it on purpose and now hates me even more for it."
I put my arm around her.
"I'm sure Penny doesn't actually hate you."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Cuz she would've not cared about it if she did."
I always believed that true hatred presented itself as disinterest rather than contempt. Lisa's once bright smile faintly came back. She wiped away her tears and moved my arm.
"I'm sure you're right but stillā¦ "
I don't know what to say. I was never good at comforting people. A few moments of silence passed by. I decided to change the topicā¦
"Allison!"
An irritating voice I was all too familiar with screeched my name. Tyler was running over to me. Flailing his left arm around trying to get my attention. Tyler being out of breath finally made it to the bench table.
"Uhā¦ Allison, I need to talk to you!"
"You don't need to yell. What do you want?"
"I came here to apologize."
"About what?"
"What Patrick and Kyle said."
He came here to say sorry?
"What they said was disgusting and completely false. I don't know where they heard those rumors from. But, I do know this, they won't be saying them anymore."
"How?"
"I'm sorry but you don't need to know that."
What did he do? Did he cut ties with them? That's a fine gesture and all but, he really didn't need to do that. I really didn't know what they said. Tyler's face seemed more depressed than before.
"Tylerā¦ how did you get these bruises on your knuckles?"
My eyes immediately jumped to Tyler's hands. His knuckles were bruised and bloody. Did he fight Patrick and Kyle?
"You should've done that."
"I had toā¦ cause it's my responsibility."
His responsibility? He's not responsible for the actions of someone else. What does he mean?
"Tylerā¦ "
I think my suspicions were correct. He's infatuated with me. Why else would he purposely get in a fist fight with friends over me? Why else would he apologize for something he didn't do? I'm speechless. I thought no one would ever like me like that. Tyler smiled warmly.
"I guess I'll be hanging out with you now on."
With that note, Tyler sat down across from me. I felt a newfound appreciation for him. Despite him being a serious dunce at times, he was a very chivalrous man. Almost like a knight in shining armor.
"Did you win?"
"Of course I won! You know why?"
"Why?"
"Cause I had something to fight for."
"That's not how fights work."
Just because you're fighting for a cause you believe is just doesn't mean you're going to win. If that was true, war would be much simpler.
"Have you ever been in a fight?"
"No, but that's not theā¦ "
"Then you have no idea how fights work."
"Tyler I don't need to be in a fight to know how it works."
"How long are we going to do this for?"
"I won't stop until you get some brain cells."
"And I won't stop until she goes on a date with me."
Excuse me? What did he just say? Oh my god. Tyler awkwardly grinned at me being flustered.
"Ummā¦ wellā¦ "
My cheeks went as red as a cherry. I don't know what to say. No one has ever asked me out before. What should I say?
"Iā¦ Iā¦ need to go."
I immediately got up and grabbed my backpack.
"Allison! Where are you going?"
"Sorry, but I have to go!"
As I was running away, Tyler called out to me trying to stop me. I just can't answer Tyler's question. I don't know what to say. I'll probably make a fool out of myself if I stay. After running in the main school building and going to the third floor, I stopped and sat down next to a locker.
Oh god! Why did I do that? Now he probably doesn't even like me anymore. He hates me now, doesn't he? Why do I even care about his feelings all of a sudden? I hate my life. I hate myself. I'm such a coward. I'm a loser.
"Hey, aren't you, Allison Reyes?"
An unfamiliar friendly voice reached out to me. I looked and sawā¦
"I'm Greg Gardner, but you probably already knew that."
Greg was a tall lean built boy with slicked back blonde hair and sky blue eyes. He had a perfect jawline and amazing complexion. He was basically the hottest guy in school. Every girl wanted him including me last year. Which helped end my friendship with Sarah Yanez, Greg's girlfriend.
"Greg Gardner is actually talking to meā¦ "
I instinctively muttered under my breath.
"What?"
"Nothing!"
"Well, I know that we don't talk much but I'll very much like it if youā¦ "
Greg pushed back his golden locks and smiled widely at me.
"Answer this short survey for me."
What?
"Umm, sure?"
"Great!"
Needless to say, I wasn't expecting this.
"Okay first question, what's your biggest fear?"
"Dying alone."
Greg was visibly distrubed by my answer, but there was no point lying to him. I mean what's he gonna do with that information?
"Umm second question, what's your dream in life?"
"Not dying alone."
He chuckled a little at my attempt at a flirt.
"He, I think we're done with the survey."
Both of us began to giggle like little kids. Though I can't believe it. I'm actually holding a conversation with Greg Gardner. I bet those fangirls are hating my guts by now.
"Greg!"
A voice I hoped to never hear again called out to him.
"Oh, Sarah! You're here!"
There she was, Sarah Yanez, my former friend from last year. Sarah was a well endowed girl with tan skin and strawberry blonde straight hair. Her hair reminded me of Pele's hair, which is a form of cooled lava. Fitting to be honest, cause she had the same fiery attitude as lava.
"What are you doing talking to her?"
Her voice was as fiery as lava too.
"Sarah, cool it down. You're my girlfriend not my damn mother. I can talk to whoever I want."
"Not to her!"
"I don't get why adamantly against me talking to her?"
"Well, causeā¦ "
I hate my life. Everything good that ever happens in it just falls apart. Maybe I'm cursed afterall. I think I should leave before she tells him. I try to quietly get up without them noticing butā¦
"Aww, see you're making Allison leave."
"Why do you care about what Allison thinks now, huh?"
"Because I'm a human being with a heart of gold plus it'll ruin my rep if I'm seen arguing with you."
"All you care about is your rep! It's like you don't care about me anymore!"
Greg shook his head in disagreement and smiled at Sarah.
"Of course I still care about you babe. How about this, after school let's go back to my dorm have some fun if you catch my drift."
He sharply winked at Sarah which immediately filled my body with an emotion that I could describe as being a mix of confound and curiosity. Is Sarah really gonna buy that?
"Oh, Greg I can't resist when you talk like that."
And she did. I was kind of expecting more from the so-called queen bee of Eisenhower. But, I'm glad she didn't spill the tea about my former crush on Greg. that would've any chance of me ever becoming friends with him. Without even a goodbye both Greg and Sarah left me at the lockers. I watched them walk away while holding hands and being almost disgustedly lovey dovey. God, what I'll give to be like them.
But, I know that wouldn't happen for me. Since I'm a coward who even runs at any mention of attraction from the opposite gender. Unsurprisingly, the rest of my class periods weren't as interesting. It just became another regular average school day. As I left my eighth period to head back to my dorm and try to forget all the worst parts of the day, butā¦
"Hey, you!"
I was unfortunately stopped in the hallways by two dudes I've never seen before. One was a fairly toned black boy with fairly well kempt dreadlocks that reached down to his nose. The other was a tall lean pale skin boy with bright ginger hair and a large array of freckles scattered across his face. In fact he looked very similar to Lisa for some odd reason. But, the better question is why did they stop? Do they know me?
"Hi, my name is Dylan and the silent brooding one next to me is Wendell."
The Lisa look alike pointed to the knockoff Jahseh Onfroy.
"What do you guys want?"
"Well, we came to give you Carter Hanneman's phone number."
"Say what?"
What does Carter want with me and why couldn't he give his phone number himself?
"You guys are lying. If Carter Hanneman wanted me to have his phone number wouldn't he give it to me in person?"
"Wellā¦ ummā¦ "
Dylan became unbelievably flustered by my question.
"Carter right now is very busy with dealing with some business in the archery club."
Wendell rolled his head while looking very distrustful of me.
"You don't have to give an attitude."
"I'm so sorry that's just the way he is."
"That doesn't excuse his tone with me. I was just asking a simple question."
"Look, do you want his number or what?"
Even though I can't stand Wendell's attitude at all, I still want Carter's number. I mean having one of the most popular guys' numbers sounds very appealing to me right now. So might as well take up on this offer.
"Sure, whatever."
Dylan gave a folded up piece of notebook paper which according to them had Carter's number.
"Well, we catch you around, see ya."
Dylan waved bye as both of them left my sight. I continued my way to the dormitories, but this time without any interruptions. As always Alice was there before me, laying on her bed while watching videos. I sat down on my bed which was about a foot away from hers. The dorm itself was fairly small in my opinion. There wasn't much for privacy. We both had to put our personal belongings under our beds or risk cluttering up the room with them. At least we had our own bathroom. Though most of the time I was the one who ended up cleaning it.
"So what took you so long to get here?"
"I was stopped by two guys who gave me Carter's number."
"Really? Who were they?"
"Some guys named Dylan and Wendell."
"Oh, I know those guys."
"You do?"
"Yeah."
"Do you know Carter?"
"Of course I do, but don't tell his fangirls. They'll be mad if some random girl knows their precious better than they do."
Alice smirked at me and got up from her bed.
"So are you gonna call him?"
"I guess. I just don't know what he wants from me."
"Ah, don't worry it won't be anything major."
"What do you mean?"
"You'll find out."
"Okay. By the way, why the hell were being so weird in Mister Alexander's class?"
"Cause, I was with my boyfriend."
"Arthur's your boyfriend?"
"Yep, it was kind of obvious."
I guess that explains why she's so clingy to him. But, why did it take me so long to figure out? Am I really that socially incompent?
"Well, don't leave me in suspense! Are you gonna call him or what?"
"Yeah, I guess."
Hopefully I can salvage my last and only conversation with Carter. I pull out my phone and input the phone number from the paper Dylan gave. All while Alice looked over my shoulder in anticipation and glee. After the first two rings I thought that either they gave me a fake number or that they lied about Carter wanting to talk to them. That was untilā¦
"Hello, who's this?"
Oh my fucking god he actually answered. What should I say? I don't know what to do in this situation. I should've mentally prepared before calling. God, I'm such an idiot. Well, I have to say something, but what? I should talk about Nietzsche or Dostoevsky. Wait a minute, I literally don't know anything about them aside from them being philosophers or whatever. God, I'm hopeless. Okay, how I just be myself and say the first thing that comes to my mind. No, that wouldn't work. What kind of person would want to hear me ramble on about nonsense for minutes on end. Not even I would wish that on my worst enemies. Maybe the only person who would want that would be Tyler.
"Is anyone there?"
"Uh, umm, yeah! Me! Allison, the girl you met during your passing period."
"Oh, Hey Allison. How's your day?"
"Better now that I'm talking to you."
Alice nudges me in my stomach and gives a thumbs up. I don't know what that means, but i guess i got her approval.
"That's great. Hey, I can't talk much right now. But, let's seeā¦ wanna meet upā¦ at the coffee shop down the street at six o'clock tomorrow?"
"Like a date?"
"Yeah like a date."
"Sureā¦ Iā¦ I'll see you there."
"Alright, have a nice night! Bye, Allison."
"B, b, bye Carter!"
And like that my first call with Carter ended on a fairly good note. No words cannot explain the amount of jubilation I'm feeling right now.
"I wonder why he would pick such a public for a date?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't you know about stan culture? If even one sees him there with you! Aww, man I kind of don't wanna tell you."
Wait a minute, she's kinda right. Everyone knows how bad stan culture can get, but then again Carter is just another high school student like them. His fans can't be as bad as pop stars right?
"They won't do anything."
"Sure do won't."
Alice falls back on her bed while manically giggling at me.
"Allison, can you turn off the lights for me? I'm trying to fall asleep before I laugh myself to death, hehe!"
I got up and flipped the lightswitch off just as she commanded. Sometimes I feel like I'm too submissive with her.
"Thank you! Good night!"
"Yeah, good bye."
I laid down in bed. After all that happened to me all I want to do is go to sleep. I drifted off into sleep gripped by a slight unease, rather than a sense of comfort.